Elizabeth Davies: Sometimes, wishes take a while to come true

Friday

Nov 28, 2008 at 12:01 AMNov 28, 2008 at 10:47 PM

Holiday wishes apparently do come true — if you wait long enough.

Elizabeth Davies

Holiday wishes apparently do come true — if you wait long enough.

Last year, I wrote a column about my deepest desires for Christmas. It didn’t make the list, but the one thing I wanted most for Christmas last year was a night by myself in a hotel. As a new mother, I spent what little free time I had daydreaming about ordering room service, watching a movie and sleeping until I couldn’t sleep any more.

Unfortunately, everyone thought I was joking and instead spent precious holiday dollars on books and clothes. But I did manage to see a few items from last year’s wish list come to fruition: It just didn’t all happen in time for Christmas.

Last year, I said:

--I wish for eight hours of sleep without hearing a baby cry. (Or waking up in a panic because the baby hasn’t cried, and therefore must have died of SIDS in his blanket-free, pillow-free crib.) It came true in: February, after six nights of ignoring the fact that my dear child was howling in the other room.

--I wish for one hour of television time, during which I don’t see Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards or Rudy Giuliani. It came true in: August, after the Democratic National Convention. Well, it mostly came true then. It very likely will be years before I can spend an hour in front of the television without Obama’s mug popping in.

--I wish that we could stop analyzing Britney Spears’ mothering techniques, and instead put our energies toward helping single mothers in our communities. It came true in: mid-2008, when Britney settled down and got too boring for the paparazzi to waste time on.

This year, I have a whole new set of Christmas wishes. With any luck, perhaps they’ll come true as well — by Christmas 2009, anyway. As usual, I’m not including any Christmas list basics like new pajamas or a bestselling novel. My wishes are just a little tougher to find in stores. They include:

1) Plastic packaging that doesn’t require an advanced degree to open.

2) One photo-free day for poor little Suri Cruise.

3) A toy for my kid that doesn’t need batteries or assembly.

4) Just one magazine without an article about the Obamas’ holiday traditions, fashions or home decor.

5) An honest-to-goodness Super Bowl showdown.

6) A rise in my 401k — but not in my gas prices.

7) A return to 30- or 60-minute TV shows during prime time. What’s the deal with taking up my entire evening with a commercial-laden two-hour show?

Honestly, even without my wishes, this is gearing up to be a Christmas for the memory books. There’s something about doing the holiday with a child that makes it simply magical.

Even now, my tyke gets excited anytime we pass a Christmas tree display, because he can’t get over how prickly they feel. And he just about jumps out of the car seat when he spots a tacky inflated Santa in someone’s front yard.

You know those singing, dancing stuffed reindeer that are so obnoxious at the store? Yep, we’re the people playing them — over and over and over again. “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” is more charming when a tiny tot is wiggling around to the tune.

This year, it’s not about what’s filling my stocking or which presents have my name under the tree. I simply plan to sit back and enjoy my gift, the one whose eyes are lit up with the excitement of it all.